Jeannie Out of the Bottle - Barbara Eden [80]
Then I heard more cables unravel, and the sound of the broken pieces tumbling down the shaft. I held my breath. Would the elevator itself be next?
There was another shudder; the elevator dropped once more and then ground to a halt.
I spent the next ninety-three minutes cowering on the elevator floor, trapped.
Finally the door was yanked open and I was helped out onto the thirty-second floor, where the elevator had stopped. As the elevator repairman helped me out, he took one look at my ashen face and yelled, “Jeannie! Why didn’t you get yourself out?” I almost socked him.
But what I didn’t recognize until later was that the universe was signaling me big-time.
In 1978, soon after Chuck and I married, I was cast as Stella Johnson, owner of La Moderna Beauty Parlor, in my first major movie role in fourteen years, Harper Valley PTA. The movie was inspired by the hit Jeannie C. Riley song, written by Tom T. Hall, but the film had echoes of Peyton Place as well.
Stella, an unconventional single mom, wore short skirts, drank beer, and wasn’t afraid to speak her mind, frequently embarrassing her young daughter. The turning point in the script came when the Harper Valley PTA vented their disapproval of Stella on her daughter, whereupon an outraged Stella stormed into the PTA and gave them a piece of her mind.
The movie was low-budget, filmed on location in southern Illinois. I hadn’t realized that part of Illinois is virtually a part of the South, and the people there speak with a southern accent. But low-budget or not, Harper Valley PTA proved to be a surprise box office success.
Consequently, in 1981, NBC decided to create a TV series based on the movie, which was shot at Universal. It started out being a lot of fun. Matthew, now sixteen, appeared in one episode, in the role of a high school student.
Michael came over to the set and coached Matthew in his part because he was so nervous about his acting ability. I was also a basket case at the prospect of acting in a scene with my son, although he only had three lines to say, but he did very well in the part and I was vastly relieved.
The first year of the series went well, because we had wonderful producers—Sherwood Schwartz and his son, Lloyd. Then NBC decided they wanted to make a change, and brought in a new production team, which included a couple of guys who seemed to think that smoking pot was the way to make a hit series. I’ve never been judgmental about drugs, but the continual smell grossed me out.
After I reported them, they took their pot smoking elsewhere, but the fallout from their behavior was that the series suffered considerably and after two years and twenty-nine episodes was canceled.
One good thing that came out of Harper Valley PTA is that I was able to buy a beautiful four-bedroom home high above Beverly Hills with a spectacular view of the city, an infinity pool, and a library. When I first moved into the house, it had an overwhelming preponderance of dark wood. I tore down walls, created windows, replaced the floor with hardwood, made one bedroom into an office, and had most of the house decorated in peach, blue, and green—all happy colors. My living room and my bedroom are mirrored to reflect the outdoors.
During my brief stays in Chicago, to Chuck’s dismay, I became somewhat of a local celebrity. The columns seemed to follow my activities incessantly. I joined the board of a major Chicago bank (a kick, considering that I’d once worked as a humble bank employee in San Francisco) and socialized with friends, including the columnist Irv Kupcinet, whose wife, Essee, used to cook us delicious home-style meals.
During that time, Matthew came to visit. He got on well with Chuck’s daughter, but Chuck did his utmost to divide us. He didn’t want Matthew to love me, or anyone else to even like me. I could see that, but instead